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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29785731">Like Having Wings</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melethril/pseuds/Melethril'>Melethril</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fast &amp; Furious (Movies), Lucifer (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, F/F, Gen, M/M, Rewatched Fast and the Furious, So very very AU, Supernatural Elements, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, The devil's in it so..., Yet it's still Fast and the Furious..., alternative universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:40:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,091</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29785731</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melethril/pseuds/Melethril</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Brian O’Conner is sent undercover to bust Dominic Toretto and his gang for hijacking trucks and stealing electronics worth millions. It turns out, things are not as easy as they seem</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Letty Ortiz/Mazikeen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thought I could watch the first, and my favorite, Fast &amp; The Furious nearly eight years after Paul Walker died. I managed. Barely. Always wanted to write a story for this movie, though. I think I can do it now. </p><p><i> In memoriam </i> of Paul Walker.</p><p>Remembered that it takes place in LA… Three guesses what I did ;)</p><p>AU… Obviously. Basically rewrite/change of the first movie, I’m only taking bits and pieces of the movies that followed. Ages are with the ‘retconned’ timeline, so 2004, Vince and Dom being twenty-eight when this takes place, Brian is twenty-six. Mia and Letty are twenty-four, Jesse eighteen, Leon undefined probably around Brian’s age or a year or two younger.<br/>Lucifer is… nearly as old as the universe. I’m going with powerful!Lucifer inspired by the character from the series but mixed with his power-level from the comics and my own Lucifer I built up these last two years. <br/>There is no god-given bride, no Chloe, no Dan, no human from the show. If they exist, Lucifer doesn‘t know them and they don‘t know Lucifer.</p><p>In the movie, Brian spent three weeks visiting Mia in the market before ever talking to Dom (though him and Vince had probably exchanged words before). The story begins in the evening after Brian’s first trip to the market.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Several truck hijackings committed with the help of high-level precision driving, stolen goods worth around six million dollars in total.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>No leads. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The primary suspect was what could be called the king of the LA underground racing scene, Dominic Toretto. The LAPD and FBI established a task force with the sole goal of finding the culprit (i.e. finding proof that Toretto and his gang were behind it). Brian O’Connor was sent to go undercover under the name Brian Earl Spilner. His background… basically his own, only that Brian had straightened up after juvie and gone to the police academy after finishing high school, joining the LAPD at the age of twenty. Spilner was twenty-eight years old, adrenaline-junkie, hothead with a heavy foot. Really, the only thing different from the real Brian O’Connor was that he was more controlled. His colleagues called him the ‘Iceman’ on the force for a reason. </em>
</p><p><em>Due to a lack of proper access to Toretto, they basically sent him in blind, placing him at </em>The Racer’s Edge<em>, a shop owned by Harry Miller who was in on him being undercover (and agreed to working with the police so he would not get in trouble with the law), but how he approached the Toretto gang was up to him. Ultimately, he decided to go for Mia Toretto, Dominic Toretto’s younger sister who sold groceries at </em>Toretto’s Market and Café<em>, a place taken care of by the mother before her untimely death when Dominic and Mia were fourteen and ten, respectively. Toretto’s father had not sold the shop and instead somehow found the time to keep it running between raising two kids, owning a garage and racing.</em></p><p>
  <em>However, when he entered that market hoping to find a way into Toretto’s orbit through his sister, the day did not end the way he had hoped.</em>
</p><p>As Brian sauntered into the market, his eyes quickly cataloged the people inside. There was a gorgeous young woman with brown hair and brown eyes behind the counter, Mia Toretto, and there was a bald, muscular man in the office in the back, Dominic Toretto. Brian had a bit more than two inches on the man, but Toretto looked like he could easily bench-press him, now that he got a glimpse of him in person.</p><p>“Hi, how can I help you?” said Mia Toretto, smiling, her expression reserved albeit friendly.</p><p>“What do you got?” He returned the smile, making sure it looked real and mischievous, possibly flirtatious but nothing overt. He did not want to scare her off; the kind of scene she was surrounded by had plenty of macho men, but given the information they had, she was not <em>in</em> the scene, indicating that she might prefer someone softer, not too gallant – that might put her off – but real, open and soft-spoken; friendly without being overbearing.</p><p>“We got beef, chicken, horrible tuna…” she laughed, saying the last bit with the undertone of self-depreciation and Brian already knew what to go for.</p><p>“Well, with an offer like that, I’ve got to go for the tuna.”</p><p>“No,” she laughed. “Seriously, what do you really want?”</p><p>“I’m serious,” grinned Brian. “You made me curious. I wanna know now. The tuna, please. No crust.”</p><p>“Your choice,” said she and proceeded to make him a tuna sandwich with no crust. Her lips twitched in amusement.</p><p>
  <em>“Mia.”</em>
</p><p>Damn, the man’s bass vibrated in Brian’s chest. He had read a lot about Toretto, but he had not expected that voice.</p><p>Much earlier than the undercover cop had anticipated, he was face to face with Dominic Toretto. In the man’s hands was a letter-sized envelope.</p><p>“Dom?” She turned around, sounding instantly worried.</p><p>“I think, when we filled out all the forms, we made a mistake and confused work with home address. I opened it before I realized…” His eyes were on the opened letter before he looked up, staring at his sister.</p><p>“What… Oh God, what-what does it say?”</p><p>Dominic Toretto’s slack face slowly turned into a wide grin, joy rolling off of him, “It means we’ll have the first doctor in the family.”</p><p>A squeal of absolute joy escaped Mia Toretto as she jumped at her brother and hugged him fiercely, “No. No, I don’t-let me see.”</p><p>With shaking hands, she took what looked like an acceptance letter. She read through it, only to read it again. “God, Dom!” She hugged her brother again. “I can’t believe… I just-I didn’t how?”</p><p>“You worked hard and relentlessly,” said he, his voice low, quiet and the smile never leaving his face with the exception of one brief moment, which he used to kiss his sister’s forehead. “You worked your ass off, taking classes whenever you could, were the best student in your high school, valedictorian at your college, ran blood drives. You wrote the most beautiful essays, spent months on it. Of course, they’ll take you.”</p><p>She just hugged him.</p><p>The roar of several car engines had Brian turn around. There was the gang.</p><p>Leticia <em>Letty </em>Ortiz.</p><p>Vincent <em>Vince </em>Gallagher.</p><p>Leon Cortez.</p><p>Jesse Jones.</p><p>They entered the market and Vince was the first to notice him, sizing him up instantly, taking an instant dislike to the only stranger in the room. Letty ignored Brian and approached the siblings with a smile.</p><p>“What’s got you smilin’, sis?”</p><p>“I got in!”</p><p>The place was in immediate uproar. Every member of the gang took their turn to hug Mia, congratulating her warmly, and Brian felt acutely out of place. Not wishing to overstay his welcome, and not knowing how much she charged for the (truly awful) tuna sandwich she had handed him before Dominic had intercepted her, he simply left a twenty on the counter and left.</p><p><em>Fuck</em>.</p><p>Mia Toretto was no longer a way in; not that she would leave the gang immediately, but her mind was now elsewhere, definitely did not have space for a guy more interested to get access to her brother than herself.</p><p>The only positive outcome was that he would not feel guilty for using her.</p><hr/><p>With the market no longer an obvious choice to start his operation, Brian floundered a bit. He might need Harry to get him into one of the street races, or – despite Harry being less than happy about it – he would need to use his store to get access to somebody who could give him the specifics on the next race. Just before he seriously had to think about that, though, Jesse Jones entered the store by his lonesome.</p><p>Perhaps this kid was a good way to get access, though Brian had no idea how to best approach him.</p><p>“Jesse, I got the parts Leon ordered. You need anything else?”</p><p>Distracted – the kid had been browsing through Harry’s store with nervous and excited energy – Jesse looked back and shook his head quickly, shoulders up, clearly uncomfortable being here all alone. His hands were fingering a cigarette. He showed clear signs of ADD or a similar disorder, unable to focus on anything for longer than a moment.</p><p>“Nah,” said the boy nervously. “Promised Dom I’d get the things and just the things, not-he trusts me with this. Ain’t gonna disappoint him.”</p><p>“Okay, here you go.”</p><p>Jesse – or Toretto, rather, paid by credit card – and just before he tried to haul all of the stuff out at once, Harry told Brian to help him out.</p><p>“Got something big planned?” asked Brian with an innocent smile.</p><p>“Yes, gotta tune Vince’s car to get it into racing shape and Dom needed some parts, so… who’re you again?” asked Jesse.</p><p>“Brian. I work here, helping out Harry.”</p><p>“Sure,” said the boy and, just before either could say anything else, a hand reached for the kid, ripping him to the side.</p><p>“There you are, boy,” growled a man in his forties, pulling a shaking Jesse close to his face, “think that, just because you’re now a big gangbanger, I’ll just let you go?”</p><p>Jesse froze. His eyes were wide, utterly terrified. It only lasted a moment, though, before he panicked, reeling back from who had to be his father. However, the man had an iron grip on him with his left hand while he used his right to slap Jesse hard across the face causing the boy to cry out. Brian, all too familiar with abusive assholes for fathers, stepped in immediately.</p><p>“Hey, man, fuck off!” he growled. “Why don’t you go against someone your size?”</p><p>Jones pushed his own son aside, who cried out in pain when his knees hit concrete, in order to advance Brian.</p><p>Brian briefly reminded himself that he was Brian Spilner.</p><p>Spilner could fight, but he was not trained. He was a streetfighter, though. He quickly evaded the man’s right hook, returned with a blow to the man’s kidney and pushed him down with all his might.</p><p>“Get the fuck outta here, asshole!”</p><p>Jones was not just abusive; he was also a coward and did not dare go up against someone who could hold his own. As soon as he got up, he hissed at Jesse, “You may have a guard dog for now, boy, but this ain’t over.” With that, he quickly ran away and Brian itched to take the man in for assaulting a civilian and a police officer.</p><p>“Hey, you okay?” asked Brian gently. Jesse was sitting on the asphalt, head in his hands, shaking.</p><p>“Dom,” whispered the kid. “I need-Dom’s gonna help.”</p><p>“Okay, kid. I’m calling him,” said Brian gently, but Harry already made the call the second Jesse was attached in front of his shop (pure self-preservation), so all Brian could do was sit down next to Jesse, giving him enough space to breathe and calming him down as best as he could. It turned out that the young man could only be pacified by talking about engines, and Brian was more than okay with indulging him.</p><p>They had similar coping mechanisms it seemed like. A decade ago, he had been like that, too.</p><p>Far quicker than the distance between DT Precision Auto Shop or the grocery shop allowed, the whole gang arrived.</p><p>“Jesse!” Dominic Toretto’s voice barked as deeply as the purring engines next to him. He walked over quickly. Instead of shrinking further into himself, Jesse scrambled up from the ground, his whole body shaking.</p><p>“Dom.”</p><p>It was almost painful watching the scared young man trying to pull himself together for a man he so obviously looked up to. Brian half-expected Toretto to tell the kid to man-up, but instead he just gently pulled him into a hug.</p><p>“You hurt?” The question was asked warmly and without the slightest air of <em>machismo</em> Brian had thought this man was all about. Twice in just so many days, Dominic Toretto had proven to be a very warm, supportive soul who loved the people around him. It was such a stark contrast to the look of coldness and suspicion he shot Brian for the brief second his gaze drifted to him.</p><p>“No, no,” Jesse shook his head vigorously, wiping his face with his hand. “I’m fine. Dad, he-anyway, Brian here showed up and scared him away.”</p><p>“Brian, huh?” said Dom gently, but the look he gave Brian was cold and wary. “Who’s Brian?”</p><p>“Really cool,” said Jesse, as if unaware that Brian was still within earshot. “Gearhead, man, not as good as you, but he knows his cars. Into imports, though.”</p><p>Dom chuckled and the look he bestowed on Brian now was amused and much warmer than before.</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Why don’t you go home with Leon, and I’ll talk to Brian.”</p><p>And just like that, without even planning for it, Brian had his in. Feeling smug and trying not to show it, he introduced himself to Dominic Toretto who remembered him from that happy day his sister had been accepted into medical school, and he had appreciated his courteous retreat so that the family could celebrate their moment together.</p><p>That was how he called his gang.</p><p>Family.</p><p>Or team.</p><p>And all of a sudden, Brian was invited to a Sunday meal at the Toretto house.</p><hr/><p>He was so screwed.</p><p>He knew he was screwed the second he came into the orbit of the Toretto family, which included the team. The thing was, the police had known Dominic Toretto had a tendency to pick up strays, which was why Brian was ultimately chosen for the undercover mission (he looked the part) and why they gave him this particular identity of Brian Spilner.</p><p>Problem was, in more ways than one, Brian O’Connor was no less of a stray yearning for a family. He just had not known it at the time. Two weeks near and among the Toretto family – helping Dom find a good place for Mia to live near Keck School of Medicine (ultimately deciding that a great-aunt would do the trick), helping Mia settle everything for her studies, tuning up engines with Jesse, enjoying family dinners and lunches, even prayers (and he had never been a religious type of guy), and the absolute thrill of a street race, where the Torettos had won both races (first Dom, then Brian in the second) – he realized just how long it had been since he had last felt at home. Worse, he could not <em>remember</em> when he had last felt like he was part of something, like not only wanting to be there but to be wanted in return.</p><p>And he wanted it, <em>God</em>, he wanted it so badly, he did not dare talking to Tanner about it, or even hinting at it.</p><p>“Hey, Brian,” said Dom with a smile on his lips the moment he stepped into the garage, yet again, for the third day in a row.</p><p><em>“He owns you now</em>,” Mia had said, and as much as he wished to deny it, it became more and more clear that, yes, Dominic Toretto was owning him more and more by the day and he was helpless to stop it.</p><p>“Where’re we heading?”</p><p>Letty and Vince were standing by Letty’s car, Dom was leaning on his, obviously waiting for him.</p><p>“You asked about how we can afford what’s under our hood. Time to fill you in, Spilner.”</p><p>
  <em>What?</em>
</p><p>Not a minute later, they were in the car together, Dom was driving.</p><p>It was funny. They had several outings, the last one in Brian’s brand-new, freshly tuned car – as per Jesse’s specs, now that kid needed to go to MIT, ADD or not – and Brian had always been the driver, Dom lazily observing his skills (and being very tense whenever Brian decided to take it faster than the norm. Really, for an illegal street-racer, Dominic Toretto was a very nervous passenger, but then Dom was one of the best –  if not <em>the</em> best –driver Brian had ever seen. This much control was not easily handed over to someone else), but today, they took Dom’s car and he was the driver. Unlike Dom, Brian was used to taking the passenger seats in car-chases, and there was an innate calm to Dom’s driving style that had relax Brian to a zen-like state.</p><p>“So,” he asked, noticing that they were nearing downtown LA. “Wanna tell me?”</p><p>“Told you about Lompoc,” said Dom. “Was there from age twenty-one to twenty-three. Mia was seventeen, stayed with an aunt. I-failed her, should’a been there for her, like Dad was before he… but I wasn’t. Should’ve been me to help her through the last years of high school. Ain’t much I could do from prison, but I did everything I could, wrote to her about school, read the material with her… Anyway, she got into community college for pre-med classes. Wasn’t the best school, but affordable. By the time I was out, I…”</p><p>Dom looked so utterly defeated and Brian’s chest felt too tight.</p><p>“Racing’s all I’m good at. Cars are my life. Couldn’t hit the tracks anymore, sponsors disappeared, grocery store and the shop barely made enough money to feed us, not to mention pay for Mia’s education. Was fucking desperate,” he sighed. “We were thinking of doing some crazy shit, you know, something like what’s been goin’ on for the past months.”</p><p>“What has been going on?” asked Brian, his heart beating wildly in his chest.</p><p>“Don’t bullshit me, Brian, you must’ve heard about the hijackings. Was my idea and something must have slipped out back then and now somebody’s doin’ it, but I’m not sure who. The Tran crew? Possibly, but I don’t think so. Anyway, back to my point: I was desperate, but Mia begged me to stay on the straight and narrow ‘cause next time I’m caught I’m looking at ten years, maybe even twenty-five to life depending on what I’m caught for and how generous the judge is feeling. Still, we needed money. I had a family to take care of, you know?”</p><p>Brian knew. He could see it happening, could see need overriding common sense. Dom so badly wanted to take care of his people; Vince had a lousy temper, Jesse’s ADD would not help him get a job and Leon… Leon could probably help, but he was a high school dropout, too. Their options were limited.</p><p>“One night, I was out, just driving, you know, getting my head off all the bullshit when I saw a car, this beauty of a C1 Corvette, on the side of a dark road. The owner, some city-boy in a suit, had his phone in his hand, but I knew that road… There’s no reception there unless you got radio. Got out, asked if I could lend a hand. Car was fine, just needed a bit of sweet talking. She roared not ten minutes later. The owner liked fast cars, said it felt like flying, but was honest about usually bringing cars to professionals when there was a problem. Respected his honesty, had a sense of humor, too. He asked me for my card.” He chuckled. “Had none, of course. People know me or they don’t. Told him where my shop was, though, and he nodded, not jotting down anything, so I figured that was it.”</p><p>Dom shook his head and gently coaxed his car to drive just a bit faster without seeming like he was in a hurry.</p><p>“Guy looked you up.”</p><p>“Yeah, he did. Next day, we had classics rolling up to our garage like you wouldn’t believe. Chevy, Lamborghini, Porsche, Aston Martin, you name it, they just rolled up. Turns out, his old mechanic screwed him over, got a bit too greedy, overcharged him and didn’t do a good job taking care of the engines. So, I became responsible for his car collection, everything that isn’t a wash was handed over to the shop.”</p><p>“He’s loaded.”</p><p>“Like nothing I’ve ever seen,” scoffed Dom, his expression was soft, though.</p><p>Fond.</p><p>He liked his benefactor.</p><p>“But…”</p><p>It seemed strange and out of character for Dom to just trust this guy not to screw him over, or to be dependent on one person who could turn on him on a whim.</p><p>“He said that I did him a favor and he wanted to repay me. Put me on his payroll as his personal mechanic, basically.” That had not been in his taxes. As if Dom could read his thoughts, he continued. “Don’t ask me how it works, but he pays my taxes and I don’t have to announce shit. 250K a year, just for being there. Additionally, he pays the shop by the hour when he has a car to check out.” That explained the occasional 50-300K payments to the bank they could not place anywhere when they came across off them while going through Dom’s finances. “It’s enough. Enough to pay off Mia’s student debt, for med school, the rest of the team is settled with the shop and the store, and I can even take care of the neighborhood, take care of extended family. I ain’t my dad, but hell, if I don’t do my best to honor him.”</p><p>“And what if he-“</p><p>“Unless I screw him over, he said this salary will last for as long as he stays in LA. When he leaves, and he said ‘when’ not ‘if’, the cars are mine.”</p><p>That was unbelievable.</p><p>“How much…?”</p><p>“Around 25 million?” smiled Dom, then he shook his head. “Told him I couldn’t take that. That I would ship him the cars. He just laughed and said that the cars could not follow to where he’d go. Said they may as well go to someone who appreciates them. Said that I was a family man and that he respected the hell out of that, that he wanted to make sure I could continue to care for them.”</p><p>“How did he know all that?”</p><p>“I told him,” said Dom. He looked over at Brian, his eyes an intense blue and Brian swallowed dryly. “Worse than me just telling you everything. That night, I was a veritable chatterbox. Told him, a complete stranger, about my dad, what I did, what I might have to do. I never told half of that shit to anyone. The only person I told about what really happened with Kenny Linder’s you. But I know why I told you. You’re <em>family</em> and you needed to know. He wasn’t and didn’t.”</p><p>Brian wanted to jump out of the moving car.</p><p>This case was breaking him into two. Worse, it looked like Dom and his team were innocent, or at least not guilty of the crimes they thought them of. Yet, he had already lost them. Dom <em>hated </em>cops.</p><p>Instead of confessing right then and there, Brian asked hoarsely, “Who’s he?”</p><p>“He owns a nightclub in downtown LA. <em>Lux</em>. Ever heard of it?”</p><p>
  <em>Lucifer Morningstar.</em>
</p><p>Brian was so fucked. Yes, he knew of him, not personally – thank fucking God – but Morningstar was a regularly surveilled man, not because they could pin anything on the guy, but because he was either a veritable guardian angel of the city or the biggest crime lord of any city Brian had ever worked in. Violent crime had come to a halt around the vortex that was <em>Lux</em>, but Morningstar apparently did not take drug abuse particularly seriously, so he was suspected of being in the drug scene; his finances were also suspicious but not outright criminal. He knew exactly how not to get busted; thus, the LAPD had tried to get to him from the inside via undercover ops.</p><p>Problem was, nobody could get an agent near him. UC cops tended to blow their cover around him, for unknown reasons, so Brian frantically tried to remember everything he knew of the man.</p><p>
  <em>Never lie around him. He sniffs them out like a bloodhound.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Be polite, avoid direct eye contact.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Beware of his bodyguard, Mazikeen Smith.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He does background checks on people he meets, so make sure you know your cover story inside out, and make sure it is visible on the web.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Has a tendency of convincing UC cops to sleep with him, male or female.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Avoid being alone with him. He is more likely to catch you in a lie when his full focus is on you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Musically adept.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Speaks a so-far unknown number of languages like a local, instantly recognizes false accents.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Do not speak in code. He will crack it.</em>
</p><p>“Yeah. What does he need?”</p><p>“He bought another car, and one is up for maintenance. You and Vince will drive them back to the garage.”</p><p>“That’s why you needed me. Why didn’t you just take Vince and Letty-“</p><p>“’Cause Letty ain’t gonna leave.” His eyes gleamed with amusement, that smile that said <em>‘I know something you don’t, Buster.’ </em>”And she needs her car to come back.”</p><p>“Oh, she and Morningstar…” Brian realized. He had not expected that. Even more surprising was Dom’s reaction: he laughed out loud.</p><p>“Nope, she’s been seeing Mazikeen, Lucifer’s right-hand.”</p><p>Brian had no idea what his facial expression looked like, but Dom chuckled lowly.</p><p>“They been seeing each other for three years now. Well, seeing… At first, they were just having fun, but recently… Letty’s serious and so’s Maze, I think. You might even see her on future family outings. Perhaps, I can convince Lucifer to come, too. Been trying. The guy’s pretty alone.”</p><p>Before taking this job, Brian would have never thought so, but Dominic Toretto was a fucking mother hen.</p><p>“I-I thought you and Letty were…”</p><p>“Emphasis on <em>‘were’</em>,” smiled Dom gently. “We realized that her love for me was founded on our mutual passion for cars. What she’s got with her was deeper when they were still just sleeping together than when we were going steady those six months before dad died.”</p><p>“What about your love for her?” It was clear to Brian that Dom still loved Letty.</p><p>“I live my life one quarter-mile at a time. Romance isn’t really an option there,” was all Dom said. “Besides, I have my family. It’s all I need. They need me, can’t get distracted looking for something else.”</p><p>Surrounded by people who loved him, would die for him, Dom still sounded lonely without meaning to, or without even realizing it.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Brian meets Lucifer Morningstar.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay, this turned out longer than expected... Sorry.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They arrived soon after their conversation in the car, and were let in by a security guard of the club. The aforementioned Corvette was parked close to the club entrance– according to Dom, this was Morningstar’s personal favorite – but the club owner’s underground garage was apparently located a block away, yet Dom always met with Morningstar at the club first. Unsurprisingly, the club was eerily quiet at this time of day, belying the fact that this was LA’s most sought-after nightclub since its opening night.</p><p>A young man was waiting for them and Dom gave him a friendly side-hug.</p><p>“Patrick! Haven’t seen you in a while. How’ve you been?”</p><p>“Studying,” said the boy. Was he even old enough to be at a club like this? But then, Jesse was around the same age and occasionally looked like a twelve-year-old. “Exam’s coming up.”</p><p>“Don’t want to disappoint the boss, hm?” Dom asked, sounding fond. Patrick shrugged his shoulders.</p><p>“He doesn’t care whether I pass or not, as long as-” he stopped speaking, unable to look Dom in the eyes.</p><p>“Don’t want to disappoint the boss,” repeated Dom.</p><p>“Yeah,” sighed Patrick, defeated.</p><p>“You’ll do just fine.”</p><p>“It’s the math shit I got problems with. The boss tried to explain it to me, but he ain’t looking at numbers the way we do. He just sees the answer without thinking.”</p><p>“Come by the garage tomorrow,” offered Dom, unfazed by the comment.</p><p>“Look, Jesse ain’t better than the boss at explaining-“</p><p>“I’m telling you to come by the garage to relax. Then we’ll do some math. You’ll do just fine. I got Vince through high school.” The corners of Dom’s lip went up. Vince huffed, shrugging his shoulders at the same time, indicating that he truly had a tough time in school. “I was never a wiz at this stuff, but that? That I can do.”</p><p>“Okay,” said Patrick, looking happier than before. “Letty, Maze said she’ll be here in a sec, but she got some last-minute intel on one of her targets, and wanted to book the guy before she comes here.”</p><p>“Book the guy?” repeated Brian, confused, and very worried. “She a cop?”</p><p>“Bounty hunter,” said Dom. “Works with a private investigator. She doesn’t like cops any more than we do.”</p><p>“No cop will ever be part of this team,” said Vince, his eyes on Brian the whole time. It was clear he still suspected him, though he was not as openly hostile as in the beginning when he had thought Brian was after Mia.</p><p>“<em>Bien dicho</em>!”</p><p>Dom’s smile was wide and Brian had to accept that he had not the slightest suspicion that there was a cop near him.</p><p>“You are aware that, before he came here, Lucifer was part of the justice system?” asked a female voice behind them, having obviously just entered the club.</p><p>The woman was gorgeous, 5’7’’, dark skinned, dark eyes and about as terrifying as her reputation indicated. As she approached the group, it felt like they were sized up by a lioness on the prowl. Letty smiled, looking happier than Brian had ever seen her. Mischief gleamed in her eyes.</p><p>“Hey.”</p><p>Mazikeen Smith’s eyes drifted from the men to the only woman in the room and her expression transformed into something warm; it looked almost foreign on her cold features.</p><p>“Hey.”</p><p>Dom had not been kidding. If these two ever broke up, it would end in real heartbreak.</p><p>Letty reached out and kissed her; Brian very quickly looked away clearing his throat because, sappily in love or not, they were very much into each other.</p><p>Mazikeen was the one to break the kiss and looked over at Dom.</p><p>“He’s upstairs.”</p><p>“I figured,” said Dom. “You two, have fun!”</p><p>Letty put her arm around Mazikeen’s hips and leaned into her, “Will do, Dom. You take care.”</p><p>“Always.” Then, after a moment of consideration, he addressed Maze, “This Sunday, after church. We have a cook-out. Just the team. You should join.”</p><p>“As long as I don’t have to give thanks,” said the woman, her expression dark and cold, her smile sharp.</p><p>Dom sighed softly, “We’ll forgo that part of the meal if it makes you more comfortable. Mama always said that it’s more important for our guests to feel at home than forcing our faith on others. I’ll thank Him later.”</p><p>She scoffed, “You shouldn’t. You’re ten times the father He is.”</p><p>“I don’t have kids,” said Dom.</p><p>Mazikeen shook her head, clearly annoyed. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before. Godfather then. It’s appropriate enough, and you’re still ten times the father He is.”</p><p>Dom did not say anything, just looked at her patiently.</p><p>“Sunday,” she confirmed. “I’ll get here with Letty.”</p><p>“Thank you,” said Dom.</p><p>With that, the two ladies went off to who knew where.</p><p>“I though she’s Morningstar’s right-hand.”</p><p>“She is, but she built a life of her own, too, finding solace in bounty hunting. Her loyalty to him is unshakable, though,” said Dom. “Let’s go.”</p><p>Vince and Brian followed him to what turned out to be an elevator.</p><p>“He’s in the penthouse,” said Vince. “Amazing view. Don’t tell him I said that, though.”</p><p>“Oh man, don’t tell me you antagonized him, too,” Brian breathed disbelievingly as they stepped into the elevator.</p><p>“Nah, but the guy’s smug as hell.”</p><p>“Leave him be, Vince. He’s a good man.”</p><p>They heard the piano before the elevator came to a stop. It was <em>Blackbird</em> by the Beatles.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Blackbird singing in the dead of night<br/>Take these broken wings and learn to fly<br/>All your life<br/>You were only waiting for this moment to arise</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Blackbird singing in the dead of night<br/>Take these sunken eyes and learn to see<br/>All your life<br/>You were only waiting for this moment to be free</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Blackbird fly, blackbird fly<br/>Into the light of a dark black night</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Blackbird fly, blackbird fly<br/>Into the light of a dark black night</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Blackbird singing in the dead of night…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>His voice was excellent, his piano play complemented it quite perfectly.</p><p>“Dominic!” exclaimed the man, his piano grand was facing the opposite direction, so Morningstar had to turn and rise from his seat in order to greet them. It was done in one smooth motion with an elegance that was striking. He was tall, taller than any of them, and thin, white, with dark hair and dark eyes.</p><p>He smiled broadly at Dom. “Vincent, wonderful, you’re here, too. And <em>you</em> are neither Leon nor Jesse.” His eyes were on Brian and the undercover cop froze.</p><p>
  <em>Shit.</em>
</p><p>“Lucifer,” said Dom, his bass making Morningstar’s voice sound higher than in probably was. “Good to see you. This is Brian Spilner, our latest addition to the team.”</p><p>“Splendid. Mr. Spilner, welcome to Lux,” said Lucifer. “The name’s Lucifer. Morningstar.”</p><p>Brian’s fake last name sounded so wrong on the nightclub owner’s lips that Brian quickly corrected it by almost blurting out, “<em>Brian</em>! Brian’s good.”</p><p>“Perfect,” replied the other man who had to be a few years older than Dom, probably in his mid-thirties. “Lucifer is fine as well, and Dominic, you’ve added a truly delectable specimen to your collection. Any chance I could…?“ The suggestive smile said it all and Brian wondered if jumping back into the elevator or going for the emergency staircase was an overreaction. Morningstar did not seem any less of a predator than Mazikeen.</p><p>“Only if he’s comfortable with that,” said Dom, unbothered by the implication.</p><p>Morningstar, however, had already let off the moment Brian had tensed, “Forgive an old devil for trying, Brian. I assure you that nothing is sexier than enthusiastic consent.”</p><p>With that, he stepped up to Dom, they pulled each other close and kissed each other’s cheeks.</p><p>The gesture itself was not a surprise to Brian. Among family, Dom was very much the son of his parents, an Italian mother and a Cuban father, and it was not unusual to see him kiss relatives and close friends on the cheeks, especially the females but the men, too. What was surprising was seeing him so affectionate with what was essentially his employer.</p><p>What personally astonished Brian even more was that Dom was like this around a man who did not exactly hide his sexuality. Strangely enough, the gesture looked innocent and familial; it twisted Brian’s insides into knots and it took him a moment until he realized what his problem was: he wanted in on that, too, that kind of affectionate trust Dom expressed around his closest family: Mia, Vince and close blood relatives, and, for some reason, Lucifer Morningstar.</p><p>What the fuck was wrong with him?</p><p>“How are you?” asked Dom, his voice a low, concerned bass that did not at all help Brian’s unsettled state.</p><p>Lucifer did not answer directly.</p><p>“Thank you for inviting Patrick. He’s been nervous and it makes me jittery.”</p><p>
  <em>Note to self: Lucifer Morningstar either has the entire place bugged or his staff informs him about everything.</em>
</p><p>Dom did not even blink, possibly because he had known the man for five years and already knew and did not care, or because he was oblivious; Dominic Toretto was everything but oblivious.</p><p>“How about you?” asked Dom.</p><p>“What about me?”</p><p>“Don’t,” said Dom and sighed. “Sunday? No church, I promise not to give thanks, just… Please.”</p><p>Morningstar’s expression softened.</p><p>“This is what you desire, isn’t it? Five years and your desires are the same: your family to be safe and healthy, your friends close, your neighborhood taken care of. Where do I fit it? Why this need to invite me to your home?” He seemed genuinely curious, and a bit lost.</p><p>Dom’s response was prompt, “Because you’re a friend, and you’re alone. No friend of mine should ever feel alone.”</p><p>“I’m not family material, Dominic,” said Morningstar, his eyes glittering, and very briefly, Brian could swear there was a red hue in his dark irises. It had to be a trick of the light.</p><p>Just like the eerie feeling that the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped by several degrees.</p><p>Dom did not seem bothered by the chilly atmosphere, “Too bad. Maze and Letty are getting serious, which makes her family; she’s-“</p><p>“Not family,” interrupted Morningstar coldly. “Family hurts you. It lets you fall, hell, it is the one tearing you down and then pities you for stumbling in the first place. It is unforgiving with a long memory. It blames you for things you haven’t done and punishes you while claiming to love and reward you. That’s what family is. Maze has been with me her whole life. She was there when I was hurting. She’s only reason I have not left Earth behind as a scourged wasteland. She’s my sentry and my anchor.”</p><p>“She is what family <em>should</em> be,” said Dom.</p><p>Brian had known Dom was a family-man through and through. It was one of the first things he learned about the man once they were face-to-face. However, the absolute <em>conviction</em> in the man’s voice, his idea of what a family should be, it deeply affected Brian. The thing was, at any other point in his life, he would have agreed with Morningstar, and now, he was getting greedy and thought that Dom’s idea of family was a possibility for him.</p><p>Morningstar scoffed, “If you don’t have it, make your own? Is that what you’re telling me, Dominic? Many have tried that approach and ultimately hurt their families, while chasing nothing but a shadow.”</p><p>“You’re not that person, Lucifer.”</p><p>“Your faith should probably object right about now,” challenged the nightclub owner.</p><p>“You know how I know that you’re not that person?” asked Dominic, undeterred. “Because you know it and you lose sleep over it. Besides, you already have your own family: every staff member of this club looks to you, Mazikeen looks to you and she mentioned others who looked to you before you came here. But, if you want to take baby steps, you can always join mine first. The great thing about family is that it’s not going to disappear when you start your own. It just shifts dynamics a bit. Or so my father told me. That part of the journey I haven’t started yet.”</p><p>Lucifer returned Dom’s smile before focusing on Vince, “What is that song that’s been itching beneath your fingertips since you entered my club? I can practically hear it.”</p><p>“I can now play Metallica’s <em>The Unforgiven</em> with my electric guitar,” said the man instantly and looked like he regretted opening his mouth a second later.</p><p>Brian had heard him play. He could.</p><p>Not particularly well, but not bad either. His grip on the lyrics had been frustratingly good, too.</p><p>“And?”</p><p>“You can’t do that with the piano,” challenged Vince. “Not the same. Nothing beats the guitar. Or the lyrics.”</p><p>“You’re aware who you’re talking to, right?” asked Morningstar. “I was the first to be unforgiven. I ruled the realm where those, who were not forgiven, reside. I <em>am </em>that song. No need for me to sing lyrics that are weirdly specific.”</p><p>“Then do it,” said Vince.</p><p>Morningstar swung his legs over the piano seat and pressed one key; Brian already knew that Vince would lose the challenge. That single, low key, vibrated in Brian’s chest.</p><p>When the melody of the vaguely familiar song began, the undercover cop wanted to run, and simultaneously confess to Dom who he was. It was unbearable. Was <em>he</em> the Unforgiven? Could Dom ever overlook the fact he was a cop? How could he? Dom hated the police.</p><p>He had to do something, he had to…Looking over to Dom, his erratic thoughts came to a screeching halt.</p><p>His friend – <em>‘target, his fucking target, remember that, O’ Connor’</em> – looked utterly gutted. His eyes were wide as he stared into nothingness. Vince did not notice, his full focus was on Morningstar stroking keys with effortless precision, but Dom took it to heart, probably thinking of Kenny Linder, the one action of his past he truly regretted. It was enough to distract Brian and thus kept him from blowing his cover because a goddamn song. He really had to get it together. It did not help that the thing that distracted him was sympathy. Gingerly, he approached Dom and, unsure what to do, put a hand on his shoulder. Without hesitation, Dom leaned in without looking at Brian, seeking comfort.</p><p>After fighting with himself for a few second, he gave into the urge and kissed the back of Dom’s head just like he had seen Vince do. It was a peck, but still felt strangely intimate. Brian was not used to kissing anyone without intent. Dom was far less hesitant, his hand enclosing Brian’s neck, and pulled him closer to place a kiss on his temple, no less innocent than his own.</p><p>Tears sprung in Brian’s eyes before he could help it.</p><p>The song was over and, without turning around, Morningstar switched to a piano rendition of <em>Knocking on Heaven’s Door. </em>It was mournful and while <em>the Unforgiven </em>had been played with detached understanding, this one aimed straight at the musician’s heart. It was only later that Brian realized just how deliberate this choice was. By playing a song that hurt himself, Morningstar drew Dom from his own dark thoughts bringing forth his caretaker nature. The entire exchange was lost on Vince whose eyes were fixed on Morningstar’s fingers, obviously trying to absorb every bit of music from the nightclub owner’s impressive repertoire. Now that was an interesting thing to observe in itself; Brian had not known just how much Vince loved music.</p><p>“Enough with the maudlin atmosphere,” exclaimed Morningstar at the end, “or I might end up impaling myself.” With that, he switched to an upbeat version of a song Brian did not recognize, but it was enough to make Dom laugh.</p><p>“Could always play some hip hop,” teased Dom once Morningstar was done.</p><p>“And that,” said Morningstar, standing up, “is our cue to leave. You’ll like the car I won. It’s more up your alley, apparently in racing shape, but I want you to check it first.”</p><p>“How did you win it?”</p><p>“Poker game. Very confident gentleman, very cocky, but foolish, too. Playing cards with the devil isn’t the brightest of ideas.”</p><p>“Well, losing a car sounds safe in comparison to some of the stories I heard,” chuckled Dom, walking next to the club owner while Vince and Brian fell into step behind them.</p><p>Vince glared at Brian all the way down the elevator and only stopped when they stepped into the garage. That was when he started smirking smugly, enjoying Brian being rendered speechless in the face of the sea of gorgeous cars. Brian could not count them at first glance and his fingers itched to touch some of them.</p><p>“Here it is.”</p><p>Morningstar said unnecessarily. It was the only neon-green car, all others were black, grey or white. There was a red Ferrari far in the back, but there was not a lot of color otherwise.</p><p>“Want me to repaint it?” asked Dom, stepping closer.</p><p>“No, not really,” said Morningstar. “I won’t drive it. I thought Mr. Jones might enjoy-“</p><p>“No.”</p><p>Dom’s voice was firm and unyielding.</p><p>“I’m not encouraging him to race,” was the pacifying reply. “I’m saying that he should have a car of his own after the unfortunate loss of his father’s car-“</p><p>“No. That man isn’t coming near Jesse.” Dom’s voice was icy. “He went to prison on drug possession, got out and started hurting Jesse ‘cause he couldn’t get a job, ‘cause Jesse made a mistake and I wasn’t there to help him. You want to give this car to Jesse, do it, but his father doesn’t deserve anything. He ain’t a father.”</p><p>Brian had not known that tidbit. In fact, the matter of Jesse’s father had not been discussed at all since he joined.</p><p>Morningstar’s stiffened, “Is Mr. Jones feeling alright? Do you need help?”</p><p>The way he said caused a chill to run down Brian’s spine and he was suddenly reminded of a conversation he had overheard between two of the officers tasked with feeling out Morningstar: one convinced he was a fantastic human being and the other not believing he was.</p><p>Human, that is.</p><p>He had called him devil and was terrified of him. Observing Morningstar’s anger, Brian understood why.</p><p>“We got it under control,” said Dom as he continued checking out the car. “This looks fine. We’ll take it out on a test-drive, check it at the garage, but you should have it back soon. Or leave it there. We’ll give it to Jesse once we’re done. Thank you.”</p><p>“Sounds good to me,” commented Morningstar, waving away the gratitude. “Vincent, would you do me the honor?”</p><p>“Sure,” said Vince, grabbed the offered keys, stepped in and drove off.</p><p>“The Audi also deserves some love at your garage,” said Morningstar.</p><p>“Yep, you said so, won’t take long, an hour or two,” said Dom.</p><p>“Perfect.” Clapping his hands together, he offered another set of car-keys to Brian. “I’m coming with. I wish to fly back with her.”</p><p>“Sure enough,” said Dom, and, without glancing back at Brian or hesitating, he approached his own car. “Brian, you drive. Lucifer, you’re welcome at my place at all times, you know that. Have you thought about…”</p><p>“Yes, I will come to lunch on Sunday. After church.”</p><p>Dom’s smile was broad and genuine, and – when he did not extend the invitation to Brian – Brian suddenly realized that he was already invited, that it did not even occur to Dom to invite him yet again. He was invited to come, was possibly even expected to come and Brian had no wish to disappoint him.</p><p>“If only it were as easy to please everyone,” said Morningstar fondly, watching Dom drive off. “Are you ready to go?”</p><p>The Audi was a beautiful machine, taken care of, and well-loved. He very much enjoyed driving it, though not as much as some others. He still hoped to get his hands on Dom’s car. He doubted he would be able to drive it as smoothly as its owner, but there was a lot of power under that hood and he wanted to feel it, just once.</p><p>It was only when they were out of the city that Brian realized that he was in a car alone with Morningstar, and suddenly felt like the canary next to a very hungry cat.</p><p>“Dominic once told me that he doesn’t care about his team’s sins if they happened before they came to him. His vest isn’t clean and he doesn’t expect anyone else’s to be,” Morningstar began. “Thus, he asked me not to interrogate new members of the family. And you are, Brian. When have you joined? I last saw him three months ago, and he didn’t mention you, neither has Letty.”</p><p>“Two weeks, coming on three,” answered Brian.</p><p>Visibly surprised, Morningstar said, “You aren’t lying.”</p><p>“No, why would I?”</p><p>“How long have you known Dominic beforehand?” asked Morningstar.</p><p>“Two weeks. Well, I saw him a week earlier at the market, but we didn’t talk.”</p><p>“So, you’re not a neighbor, you’re not affiliated with any member of the Toretto family, you’re not even from the region,” concluded Morningstar, “yet you’re here, driving me to the garage after knowing the team for two weeks?”</p><p>Brian nodded and wondered where this was going.</p><p>“I’ll be damned,” exclaimed Morningstar. “Well, I am, but, you know, figure of speech. Dominic has many virtues but trusting strangers is not one of them.”</p><p>“He trusted you just fine,” challenged Brian.</p><p>“Ah, yes? What did he tell you?”</p><p>After Brian more or less repeated what Dom had told him, Morningstar nodded, “Yes, that is all correct. What he didn’t tell you was that I had just arrived in LA a few months prior. I just opened the club, but my family issues were not quite settled yet. After a less than quiet visit from not one but both of my older brothers, intent on forcing me back into the family business, I had taken the Corvette to feel the wind in my hair and forget. It was dark and I was in an awful mood. That was when the car broke down. The street wasn’t busy, but ten cars still passed me without stopping.” He scoffed. “I cannot blame them. I was <em>not </em>in mood for company.”</p><p>His expression made it clear that when Lucifer Morningstar was not in mood for company, nobody was stupid enough to provide him with some.</p><p>“That night, with me on the side road, forcing myself not to crush the cell phone in my hand, a car came to a stop. A young man in his early twenties, bald and looking like he wanted a fight, stepped out. Not that he actually wanted it, but I did and he was just responding to that.”</p><p>“He didn’t tell me that,” said Brian.</p><p>“Well, it didn’t come to a fight.”</p><hr/><p>
  <em>“Hey, asshole! What the fuck did you do to that poor Corvette? Daddy ain’t-shit, you okay?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Michael and Amenadiel certainly had not held back this time if it managed to shock a man who had probably seen his fair share of brawls.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“It’ll heal,” said Lucifer, unarmed by the man’s sudden change from aggressive annoyance to real concern, from darkness engulfing him like a veil to a bright beacon of Light that was warm and bright and called to Lucifer like a star. “Lucifer Morningstar.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If the man was surprised by the name, he did not show it, “Dominic Toretto.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Do you happen to have a phone or radio? It seems like my car has suffered from enough abuse in one night.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I’m a mechanic,” said Mr. Toretto. “Let me check it out. If I can’t get that little cat purring in ten, then I’ll drive you out and will have it towed by a company of your choice.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Annoyed, Lucifer hissed, “No, thank you. I’ve had enough of mechanics for a while, enough of being charged for parts that were not replaced and insufficient car services that cost me money without getting anything in return.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was not the man’s fault. Lucifer had simply thought that Jason was not foolish enough to try and trick the devil, yet he had and Lucifer’s patience was not infinite.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I’m not offering car repair. I’m not going to charge you. It’s dangerous out here and far too dark. I’m not going to have your life on my conscience.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Something about the way he said it made Lucifer ask, “What life have you taken?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The young man’s story was heartbreaking; Lucifer could smell the guilt on him, and it truly upset the devil that the good ones were always those who suffered more from the mistakes they made, than those who would deserve it. What the young man had done, was not enough to damn him, but his guilt kept him from living life to the fullest. Mr. Torretto, Dominic, was quite shocked at his own bout of honesty, and near-confession.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I haven’t-” he gulped suddenly. “I swear to you I haven’t done anything yet. Please, don’t-“</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I won’t, but don’t do it, Dominic. Think about this. I can only imagine how desperate you are, but this idea could get you killed, members of your team killed, the men you’ll rob killed. Do you want to risk bestowing Mr. Linder’s fate on someone else? Your own team?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>In the darkness, Lucifer had no trouble seeing the mechanic’s face blanch.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I would never-“</em>
</p><p><em>“I’m not saying you’d hurt them physically; I’m saying that if anything goes wrong, </em>anything<em>, and one of them has an accident, they may need to take the bus to work, too.”</em></p><p>
  <em>Dominic flinched and needed no further prompting in that area.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Intent on changing the subject, Lucifer casually mentioned that ‘for a mechanic, he looked more like a GQ model.’</em>
</p><hr/><p>“He had just been hired at <em>Halong Bay</em>, a nightclub in the city.”</p><p>Brian did his best to remain neutral. That place belonged to Tran Anh Dung, father of Johnny Tran, and just barely on the side of legal. Tran Senior was a notorious crime-boss (how else could his son afford his little gang without repercussions), and there were a lot of rumors about his club. Unfortunately, it was also wrapped in red tape that the LAPD could not cut. That had not been in Dominic’s taxes either.</p><p>“Of course, he refused to work there for more than a night,” smiled Morningstar. “He was supposed to be the muscle, a quiet, good-looking security guard, looking exotic enough for the clientele to flirt with. He went along with that part of the job, I doubt there is anything he would not do to help his family, but he was unable to bear how the women were treated and, in order to not get booked again for assaulting a member of LA’s elite, he left that same night. So, in many ways, his night was not better than mine.”</p><p>The nightclub owner then proceeded to tell him how Dom had taken off his jacket and fixed the car in no time.</p><p>“So, your meeting went off without a hitch,” Brian concluded.</p><p>“Much better than our second, yes,” laughed Morningstar. “He told you that I had my cars delivered to the garage and he drove them back to my club as he went through them, one car at a time. I called him up to the penthouse when he brought back number three. I was-in retrospect, I probably should have been more aware just how much power I had over him in that moment… I was <em>occupied</em> with a lover who was very into morning sex and who had a hidden kink for exhibitionism I was utterly unaware of until that moment. Long story short, while I enjoy many types of kinks, I never indulge in them without consent of all participating parties. Of course, Dominic’s reaction was understandable, albeit on the less than open-minded side, but then the man’s only experience with same-sex relations between two men was Lompoc and he was therefore less than thrilled about seeing it in action.”</p><p>Brian was not surprised that Dom had avoided this particular part of meeting Morningstar. <em>Had Dom been assaulted in prison?</em></p><p>The thought caused the bile to rise in Brian’s throat.</p><p>As if he had spoken the question aloud, Morningstar said, “I don’t know. He never told me, and I wouldn’t tell you if he had.”</p><p>Dom had been twenty-one and Brian had seen the mugshots. Dom would have received the attention of older inmates.</p><p>“Needless to say, he made it absolutely clear that he was not interested, and that he’d return all the cars on the same day. I don’t sleep with the people whose salary I pay,” continued Morningstar, “and after talking to various members of my staff, he believed me. It took a while, though, before he trusted me. Before he believed that there was no hidden angle with which I would try to harm him. Now, Brian, I was honest with you. I would very much like to hear you talk. There’s something lingering just beneath a very cool and collected surface. A hothead you’re not, so why they call you <em>buster</em>, I can only guess. Tell me, Brian, what is it that you <em>burn</em> to tell me?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wow, you read it to the end. Thanks!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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